Reviews
"Stalin's Iron Fistis based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic."-Lynn Viola, author ofThe Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements, "Thanks to Getty's diligent researches, Yezhov's career before the Great Purges finally comes into focus. Stalin's instrument he undoubtedly was, but not without agency and ambitions of his own."-Sheila Fitzpatrick, University of Chicago, "Meticulously sourced. . . . [An] absorbing read, and useful as a reminder of how cruel humans can be in the name of a cause."-James Critchlow, The New Leader, "Until this book by Getty and Naumov, no scholar has treated Yezhov as a human being and sought to understand why he did inhuman things. . . . It is a disturbing tale, an all too common tale in modern history."-William Chase, author of Enemies Within the Gates? The Comintern and the Stalinist Repression, 19341939, "Until this book by Getty and Naumov, no scholar has treated Yezhov as a human being and sought to understand why he did inhuman things. . . . It is a disturbing tale, an all too common tale in modern history."--William Chase, author of Enemies Within the Gates? The Comintern and the Stalinist Repression, 1934-1939, "UntilStalin''s "Iron Fist", no scholar has treated Yezhov as a human being and sought to understand why he did inhuman things. For this reason, this volume is a very welcome addition to the literature of the Stalin period and modern history. It is a disturbing tale, an all too common tale in modern history."-William Chase, author ofEnemies Within the Gates? The Comintern and the Stalinist Repression, 1934-1939, "Yexhovis based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic."-Lynn Viola, author ofThe Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements, "Meticulously sourced. . . . [An] absorbing read, and useful as a reminder of how cruel humans can be in the name of a cause."--James Critchlow, The New Leader, "Thanks to Getty's diligent researches, Yezhov's career before the Great Purges finally comes into focus. Stalin's instrument he undoubtedly was, but not without agency and ambitions of his own."�Sheila Fitzpatrick, University of Chicago, "Thanks to Getty''s diligent researches, Yezhov''s career before the Great Purges finally comes into focus. Stalin''s instrument he undoubtedly was, but not without agency and ambitions of his own."-Sheila Fitzpatrick, University of Chicago, " Yezhov is based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic."--Lynn Viola, author of The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements, ""Yezhov" is based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic."--Lynn Viola, author of "The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements", "Thanks to Getty's diligent researches, Yezhov's career before the Great Purges finally comes into focus. Stalin's instrument he undoubtedly was, but not without agency and ambitions of his own."--Sheila Fitzpatrick, University of Chicago, 0;"Stalin7;s Iron Fist" is based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic.1;2;Lynn Viola, author of "The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin7;s Special Settlements" -- Lynn Viola, "Meticulously sourced. . . . [An] absorbing read, and useful as a reminder of how cruel humans can be in the name of a cause."�James Critchlow, The New Leader, "Until this book by Getty and Naumov, no scholar has treated Yezhov as a human being and sought to understand why he did inhuman things. . . . It is a disturbing tale, an all too common tale in modern history."-William Chase, author of Enemies Within the Gates? The Comintern and the Stalinist Repression, 1934-1939, " Yezhov is based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic."-Lynn Viola, author of The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements, "Until this book by Getty and Naumov, no scholar has treated Yezhov as a human being and sought to understand why he did inhuman things. . . . It is a disturbing tale, an all too common tale in modern history."-William Chase, author ofEnemies Within the Gates? The Comintern and the Stalinist Repression, 19341939, "Yezhov is based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic."-Lynn Viola, author of The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements, ""Stalin's Iron Fist" is based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic."-Lynn Viola, author of "The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements", �Yezhov is based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic.��Lynn Viola, author of The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin�s Special Settlements, "Yezhovis based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic."Lynn Viola, author ofThe Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements, �Until this book by Getty and Naumov, no scholar has treated Yezhov as a human being and sought to understand why he did inhuman things. . . . It is a disturbing tale, an all too common tale in modern history.��William Chase, author of Enemies Within the Gates? The Comintern and the Stalinist Repression, 1934�1939, ""Yexhov" is based on very thorough research, bringing to light many new and dramatic sources from the archives. The historiographical originality and verve of the work will make it an instant classic."--Lynn Viola, author of "The Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin's Special Settlements", "Until "Stalin''s "Iron Fist,"" no scholar has treated Yezhov as a human being and sought to understand why he did inhuman things. For this reason, this volume is a very welcome addition to the literature of the Stalin period and modern history. It is a disturbing tale, an all too common tale in modern history."-William Chase, author of "Enemies Within the Gates? The Comintern and the Stalinist Repression, 1934-1939"
Synopsis
Head of the secret police from 1937 to 1938, N. I. Yezhov was a foremost Soviet leader during these years, second in power only to Stalin himself. Under Yezhov's orders, millions of arrests, imprisonments, deportations, and executions were carried out. This book, based upon unprecedented access to Communist Party archives and Yezhov's personal archives, looks into the life and career of the enigmatic man who administered Stalin's Great Terror. J. Arch Getty and Oleg V. Naumov seek to answer a series of troubling questions. What kind of person calmly and efficiently sends thousands of innocent people to their deaths? What could prepare a man for such a role? How could a person whom acquaintances describe as friendly, pleasant, and even gallant carry out one of history's most horrifying campaigns of terror? The authors uncover the full details of Yezhov's rise to power and conclude that he was not merely Stalin's tool but a skillful maneuverer in his own right. The historical documents provide a thorough portrait of Yezhov and reveal a man of fanatical dedication to his leader and his party-a man who became a willing murderer. Readers will find his story chilling, the more so in our own times, when the impulse to terror that engulfed Yezhov seems neither surprising nor unfamiliar., Head of the secret police from 1937 to 1938, N. I. Yezhov was a foremost Soviet leader during these years, second in power only to Stalin himself. Under Yezhov's orders, millions of arrests, imprisonments, deportations, and executions were carried out. This book, based upon unprecedented access to Communist Party archives and Yezhov's personal archives, looks into the life and career of the enigmatic man who administered Stalin's Great Terror. J. Arch Getty and Oleg V. Naumov seek to answer a series of troubling questions. What kind of person calmly and efficiently sends thousands of innocent people to their deaths? What could prepare a man for such a role? How could a person whom acquaintances describe as friendly, pleasant, and even gallant carry out one of history's most horrifying campaigns of terror? The authors uncover the full details of Yezhov's rise to power and conclude that he was not merely Stalin's tool but a skillful maneuverer in his own right. The historical documents provide a thorough portrait of Yezhov and reveal a man of fanatical dedication to his leader and his party--a man who became a willing murderer. Readers will find his story chilling, the more so in our own times, when the impulse to terror that engulfed Yezhov seems neither surprising nor unfamiliar., The definitive study of Nikolai Yezhov's rise to become the chief of Stalin's secret police--and the dictator's "iron fist"--during the Great Terror Head of the secret police from 1937 to 1938, N. I. Yezhov was a foremost Soviet leader during these years, second in power only to Stalin himself. Under Yezhov's orders, millions of arrests, imprisonments, deportations, and executions were carried out. This book, based upon unprecedented access to Communist Party archives and Yezhov's personal archives, looks into the life and career of the enigmatic man who administered Stalin's Great Terror. J. Arch Getty and Oleg V. Naumov seek to answer a series of troubling questions. What kind of person calmly and efficiently sends thousands of innocent people to their deaths? What could prepare a man for such a role? How could a person whom acquaintances describe as friendly, pleasant, and even gallant carry out one of history's most horrifying campaigns of terror? The authors uncover the full details of Yezhov's rise to power and conclude that he was not merely Stalin's tool but a skillful maneuverer in his own right. The historical documents provide a thorough portrait of Yezhov and reveal a man of fanatical dedication to his leader and his party--a man who became a willing murderer. Readers will find his story chilling, the more so in our own times, when the impulse to terror that engulfed Yezhov seems neither surprising nor unfamiliar.
